NTD Evening News Full Broadcast (May 21)

Welcome to NTD Evening News. Our top story tonight, no testimony from former President Trump. The defense rests its case. Now, attorneys argue over words and phrases in the jury instructions. Arlene Richards has the latest. A reference to a united rife in a video shared by Trump's social media account now prompting President Biden to accuse Trump of using Hitler's language. The border crisis is shaping up to become a key issue during this year's presidential election. Two new polls now show that over half of Americans support deporting illegal immigrants. House Republicans plan to vote on a bill that would prohibit non-citizens from voting in local elections in D.C. What are Democrats saying about the proposal? And a Singapore Airlines flight is hit with severe turbulence over the Indian Ocean. One person is dead and dozens more are injured. We'll break down what happened. This is NTD Evening News. Live from our NTD global headquarters in New York City, here is Tiffany Meyer. Good evening and thank you for joining us tonight. Tempers fly in former President Trump's New York criminal trial as lawyers argue over jury instructions. This comes after Trump's defense team rested its case Tuesday without calling the former president to testify. Our legal correspondent Arlene Richards has more details. Attorneys in former President Trump's New York criminal trial debated vigorously Tuesday afternoon after the defense rested its case. Both sides argued about instructions on the law that the judge will read to the jury next week when deliberations begin. Trump said there is no crime. So maybe they'll try and devise one right now, the judge. He'll help them out because the judge has been very helpful to the other side and that should never be, that should never be in our country. The defense pushed for language that would help the jury understand what the law is and how it works. For example, Trump's attorney Todd Blanch argued that New York law recognizes that conspiracy charges require a willfully component. Falsifying business records in the first degree requires that there be intent to commit another crime. The defense said the prosecution didn't prove criminal intent and if there was a violation it was civil and therefore Trump can't be convicted of a crime. But the prosecution maintained that the conspiracy itself is the crime. Other areas argued include how to define words in the federal election law and in New York law. The judge didn't rule on most of the issues but he denied the defense's request that the jury be told there was no limit on federal candidates' contributions to their own campaigns. In other courtroom drama, Tuesday key defense witness Robert Costello completed his testimony. Costello came off as a fiery witness on Monday but Judge Juan Mershon threatened to strike his testimony. Costello had made remarks after Mershon made several rulings that favored the prosecution. Costello testified on Monday that he previously represented Michael Cohen and that Cohen repeatedly told him Trump knew nothing about the $130,000 payment. On cross-examination, the prosecution showed the jury emails from Cohen saying he wasn't hiring Costello's firm. Judge Mershon excused the jury until next Tuesday at which time both sides will give closing arguments. The jury will begin deliberations on Wednesday. Arlene Richards reporting from the criminal courthouse in Manhattan. President Biden touting an election year legislative win as he seizes on a new video shared by Trump's social media account. Trump's team pushing back against accusations. Entity's Iris Tao has more from the White House. In New Hampshire, President Biden highlighting his work for veterans and also announcing there have been a million veterans who apply for disability benefits under his legislation. Major milestone providing 5.7 million dollars in benefits to 890,000 veterans and families so far in hand including 3,000 here in New Hampshire. The PACT Act passed in 2022 expanded benefits to veterans impacted by toxic exposures. Biden has long blamed burn pits for leading to the brain cancer that killed his son Beau Biden. Folks, you suffered long enough. You shouldn't have to prove that your illness came from their service. Biden on Tuesday also campaigned in Boston where he accused Trump of using Hitler's language over a video shared by Trump's social media account on Monday. What happens after Donald Trump wins? What's next for America? The 30-second video now deleted feature references to the creation of a unified reich along with hypothetical news headlines should Trump win in 2024. Biden asked about the phrase. And Biden's campaign is again calling Trump a potential dictator. Meanwhile Trump's campaign pushing back says the video was quote created by a random account online and reposted by a staffer who clearly did not see the word. And Trump's campaign on the same day also touted that it outraged Biden's campaign by 25 million dollars in April even as Trump was confined to a courtroom for the past four weeks. And Biden still holds a significant cash edge over Trump though he's trailing behind Trump in polls in major battleground states. Reporting from the White Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani today pleading not guilty to nine felony counts. The charges stem from his role in challenging the results of the 2020 presidential election in Arizona. Giuliani received a summons last Friday night after his 80th birthday party. 10 other co-defendants in the case also pleaded not guilty to conspiracy forgery and fraud charges. That includes former Arizona GOP Chair Kelly Ward. Giuliani spokesperson said the charges are politically motivated. Arizona is the fourth state in which Trump allies have been charged for challenging the 2020 election results. The former mayor's trial is scheduled on October 17th just weeks before election day. Breaking news the Justice Department is suing Oklahoma over The law makes it a state crime punishable by up to two years in prison to live in the state without legal status. Similar laws in Texas and Iowa already are facing challenges from the DOJ. New polls on illegal immigration are out this week. Two separate surveys find that over half of Americans support the deportation of illegal immigrants. This as the border is shaping up to become a key issue during this year's presidential elections. A Reuters Ipsos poll released on Monday found that 56 percent of all voters say they support deporting most or all illegal immigrants in the U.S. The number goes up to 61 percent for independent voters. Meanwhile a new Rasmussen report released this week asked people about the choice between deporting illegal immigrants or granting them amnesty. It found that 52 percent would vote for a candidate who favored deportation. 36 percent would support a candidate who favored amnesty. The rest were undecided. Former President Trump has repeatedly said he'd deport large numbers of illegal immigrants if he wins this year's election. And they do come from prisons and mental institutions and they are terrorists and we're going to be paying a price and it will be the largest deportation in the history of our country and we have no we have no choice. Meanwhile Newsweek released a separate poll on Monday regarding crime in New York City. It found that 70 percent of New York voters blame migrants in the city for the current crime rate. 41 percent say immigration is having a significant impact and 31 percent say it has a fair amount of impact. And a fact check over non-citizen voting is causing a stir on Tuesday. Just last week a House committee held a hearing probing how to prevent non-citizen voting in federal elections. Since President Biden took office over seven million illegal immigrants have crossed the southern border. We must ensure our elections are secure. Now on Tuesday fact checker PolitiFact discredited a statement made by House Speaker Mike Johnson who said some immigrants can register to vote. PolitiFact posted it's illegal for non-citizens to vote. Some Republicans were quick to respond. Congressman Chip Roy tweeted non-citizens have myriad opportunities to register to vote. Senator Mike Lee responded PolitiFact rates a true claim false yet again simply because the writer doesn't like it. The Republican-led House of Representatives is teeing up a vote on a bill that would prohibit non-citizens from voting in local elections in the District of Columbia. NTT's Washington correspondent Luis Martinez has the details. The House Rules Committee held a hearing on Tuesday to discuss legislation to repeal a 2022 Voting Act amendment that allows for non-citizens to vote in the District of Columbia. This is the second time Republicans try to repeal this 2022 Voting Act amendment. The last time was in February and it passed the House floor but it did not get a vote in the Senate. We have Washington D.C. aggressively not only allowing non-citizens to vote in particular for mayor and other key elections in the city but so so much as actively encouraging non-citizens to vote. I think this should be an area where folks on the left should actually be willing to work with us to make sure that we're addressing these concerns to maintain that U.S. elections are for U.S. citizens. In 2022 the Democrat-led D.C. council passed legislation to allow non-citizens to vote in local elections. The U.S. Congress made voting of non-citizens in federal elections illegal back in 1996 but that law does not apply to local elections. Currently there are at least 16 jurisdictions in the country that allow for non-citizen voting most notably in the states of California, Maryland and Vermont and the District of Columbia. Democrats who oppose the repeal effort argue that non-citizen voting is not an issue. MAGA extremists are laying the groundwork to overturn the 2024 election to betray once again the will of the American people. This hearing is about preemptively covering Donald Trump's lies. The hearing isn't about law and order. It's about laying the foundation for the next big lie. It's about saying that illegal voting is the cause of an election defeat. This is not a bipartisan effort. House Democratic leadership is asking its conference to vote against the measure. Speaker of the House Mike Johnson is expected to put the repeal effort on the House floor for a vote this week and it's expected to pass with Republican support. Reporting from Washington D.C., Luis Eduardo Martinez, NTD News. Frightening moments in the skies above the Indian Ocean when a Singapore Airlines flight hits severe turbulence. One person is dead and investigators say dozens of passengers were injured, some severely. A 73-year-old British man was killed and injured passengers were stretched off the flight after the plane fell into an air pocket before encountering turbulence. The Boeing 777 flight from London's Heathrow Airport to Singapore with 211 passengers and 18 crew members aboard was diverted and landed in stormy weather in Bangkok. Dozens were taken to hospital including one crew member. The tarmac became a makeshift emergency room to treat the injured. A senior airport official said the British man likely died due to a heart attack while seven people were critically injured with head injuries. A passenger on board said the plane tilted upwards and began shaking. Then he said a dramatic drop saw people launched into baggage cabins overhead, their bodies denting and breaking the panels. A spokesperson for Flightradar24 said data analysis from the plane's journey shows the plane tilting upwards and returned to its cruising altitude over the space of a minute. The airline said it is working with Thai authorities to provide all necessary assistance. Boeing said it was also ready to provide support. Coming up Israeli officials confiscate broadcasting equipment from the Associated Press only to reverse course hours later. The controversy surrounding the event and what triggered the move. Outbursts from anti-Israel protesters at a Senate foreign affairs hearing where Secretary of State Antony Blinken is testifying. And Iran begins holding funeral processions for officials killed in the helicopter crash. A Middle East affairs expert joins us to discuss the impacts of their deaths and the response to it after the break. What if you could whiten your teeth by simply brushing your teeth? Now you can With SmileActives, the teeth whitening breakthrough that safely gets your teeth white and keeps them white every day just by brushing your teeth. I never thought that whitening my teeth could be so easy. I just put the gel on the brush, the toothpaste on it, brush and I can see my white teeth. Simply add SmileActives to any toothpaste and our patented PolyClean technology activates into a powerful microfoam that penetrates into the enamel surface to safely lift and remove stains. You need a simple way to whiten your teeth without strips, without trays, without going to the dentist and it was about time that a product was developed that you would be able to do that with just brushing. And now SmileActives is even better with new pro-whitening gel with 33 percent greater whitening power clinically shown to whiten teeth faster up to eight shades. 100 percent of on food stains, coffee and wine stains, even on veneers, crowns and dentures. I eat the blueberries, I drink the coffee and I know that SmileActives will keep my teeth white every day. If you could use something so easy like SmileActives to take yellow teeth to white teeth, why wouldn't you? Why spend hundreds of dollars for whitening treatments at the dentist when now you can whiten your teeth with new SmileActives pro-whitening gel every time you brush your teeth? Call or go to SmileActives.com and for a limited time get new pro-whitening gel for just $24.95. Order in the next five minutes and buy one get one absolutely free for just $24.95. That's two for one and save 58 percent. We'll even include free shipping. Get your teeth whiter guaranteed or return it within 60 days for your money back. I smile every day now. The difference is literally night and day. So now I'm always smiling, always choosing because now my teeth are much whiter. This offer is not available in stores so call or click now before the special buy one get one free offer goes away. Looking for a healthy and smooth tasting brew? Drop by Day's Coffee Roasters today and explore our wide selection of specialty grade small batch roasted coffee. Home to North America's first enzyme fermented coffee. We source a wide selection of specialty grade coffee beans from around the world and our baristas are ready to craft your customized brew. Visit Day's Coffee at 28 North Street, Middletown, New York. Come experience a brew like no other. Welcome back. I'm Tiffany Meyer. Israel will return a seized camera and broadcasting equipment belonging to the Associated Press. Hours earlier they seized the equipment under a new law that regulates foreign media and tensions remain high in the Middle East as the U.N. halts all food delivery to Rafa. NTD's Fiona Ji has more. Shortly before the equipment was seized today it was being used to broadcast a general view of northern Gaza. AP states that they comply with Israel's military censorship rules avoiding details that could endanger soldiers. But the communications ministry said AP photographers regularly focus on IDF soldiers and their locations. Israel also accused the news organization of violating the law by providing images to Al Jazeera, a media network which Prime Minister Netanyahu previously labeled the Hamas mouthpiece. The Qatari satellite channel is one of thousands of AP customers who receive live video. Earlier this month the Israeli government used the same law to shutter the offices and broadcast facilities of Al Jazeera. But the seizure drew criticism from the Biden administration, journalism organizations, and an Israeli opposition leader. Under the pressure the Israeli government announced just hours later that it would return the equipment to the AP. Meanwhile the U.N. announced today it is halting food delivery to Rafa due to insecurity and lack of supplies. A spokesperson has warned that humanitarian aid in Gaza will collapse and famine will spread if aid delivery doesn't resume. Fiona Ji, NTD News. While testifying before Congress today, Secretary of State Antony Blinken was interrupted by several anti-Israel protesters. NTD's Washington correspondent Jack Bradley has more from Capitol Hill. Secretary of State Antony Blinken testified in front of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on the State Department's budget hearing on Tuesday. During his opening remarks though he was interrupted by several anti-Israel protesters. The need for U.S. global leadership and for cooperation with allies and partners has never been greater. The People's Republic of China pursuing. I was saying the People's Republic of China. People's Republic of China is pursuing military, economic, and geopolitical preeminence challenging our vision for a free, open, secure, and prosperous international order. The President's FY25 budget. The hearing focused more on foreign policy especially in regards to the threat the Chinese Communist Party poses to the U.S. as well as the wars in Ukraine and Gaza. Now Blinken reiterated U.S. support for Israel as well as providing humanitarian aid to those in Gaza. I spoke to who said that the budget falls short but they differed with each other in terms of policy. I think we should have a larger investment in diplomacy including foreign assistance so no I think we should have a larger budget. We need to be more robust in certain areas in the humanitarian side. The budget's biggest focus is on climate change. That focus doesn't help Ukraine or Israel or help our allies compete against China. Blinken is requesting 58 billion dollars to fund the State Department as well as U.S. aid abroad, two billion dollars to fund international infrastructure around the world, one billion dollars to the World Bank, and 1.7 billion to international organizations like the United Nations. Blinken is set to return to Capitol Hill on Wednesday where he'll testify in front of the House Foreign Affairs Committee and the House Appropriations Subcommittee. Reporting from Washington D.C., Jack Bradley, NTD News. During the hearing Blinken said he wants to work with Congress on laws to penalize the International Criminal Court for issuing arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Galant. He called it a profoundly wrongheaded decision. Yesterday the White House and lawmakers from both parties condemned the ICC's actions and House Speaker Mike Johnson said Republicans are looking into sanctioning the court. In Iran, days of funeral processions have begun for the regime's late president and other officials killed in the helicopter crash. The funeral processions include a series of ceremonies led by the regime. They began in the closest major city near the site of the crash. Thousands in black slowly walked beside the coffins. Some threw flowers and an emcee wept through a loudspeaker. The regime's supreme leader declared five days of national mourning. Tomorrow he will preside over a separate funeral procession in the capital Tehran. It's unclear how many foreign dignitaries will show up but Russia, Iraq and Turkey have confirmed they will be sending their officials. Iranian authorities warned people over showing any public signs of celebrating Raisi's death. A heavy security force presence has been seen on the streets of Tehran since the crash. Earlier we spoke with Josh Haston, Middle East correspondent at Jewish News Syndicate. We discussed the death of the Iranian president and the response we saw from the U.S. State Department. Josh Haston, thank you so much for joining us. Great to have you on the show. Thanks so much. Now the Iranian president's memorial has been quite muted. This is amid public unrest. Now how do you view his death impacting the war in Gaza? So honestly, I think that it will have little impact on the war in Gaza. The president of Iran is really a puppet. He has to listen to what the Ayatollah is telling. Obviously he himself is known as the butcher of Tehran so he has a very disturbing past which obviously resonates with the people of Iran who oppose the regime. But overall, Iran is still very much in power. They are the octopus of terrorism in the Middle East everywhere from Hamas in Gaza to Hezbollah in Lebanon to the Houthis in Yemen. They are the biggest state sponsor of terror in the world. That's a threat not only to Israel but that's a threat to the United States and the entire Western world. I think they'll continue to push on. We know they're pushing towards nuclear weapons and that is something Israel cannot allow. And given that threat to the U.S. as well that you just laid out and that his name was known as the butcher of Tehran, the U.S. State Department has been making headlines because it issued condolences following his death. How do you read that? What's the message here? Yeah, that's completely repulsive. I mean, would somebody call up Hitler's family after his passing and send condolences? I mean, this man murdered 30,000 of his own people and that's why you saw the fireworks going off throughout Iran yesterday. They want to be peaceful, if you will, but it's really having the opposite effect. It's showing weakness. So, it's a terrible mistake by the State Department and the other countries, many other countries, including, by the way, they have an international atomic committee who's supposed to be investigating Iran. They send condolences to Iran and these are the people supposed to preventing Iran from going nuclear, an absolute disgrace. Now, speaking of the war in Gaza, the Associated Press reported earlier today that Israeli authorities had shut down its live camera feed showing the war in Gaza. That was over reports that it was feeding that feed to Al Jazeera, which of course was kicked out of Gaza. Now, reports are saying that Israeli communications ministers are now ordering those seized cameras to be returned to the Associated Press, perhaps following massive backlash. How do you read all of this? Yeah, obviously, there was a lot of pressure from the Associated Press and journalists and governments around the world calling for returning the equipment. But that being said, we have to recognize what apparently the AP was doing that is turning over sensitive information to Al Jazeera. Al Jazeera is the media of Hamas, nothing less. They have been spewing anti-Israel propaganda for many, many years. He should not be in cahoots with Al Jazeera. I think they're doing fine on their own. They don't have to be, especially getting sensitive information to be, as I said before, the media arm of a terrorist organization. Josh Haston, thank you so much for your time. Thank you so much. Coming up, closing arguments in former President Trump's so-called hush money trial are expected next week. A former federal prosecutor joins us to discuss the latest developments in the case. In America's energy needs expected to skyrocket, lawmakers say massive improvements to the grid may be needed just to keep the lights on. More when we return. These are all farmers, maybe not this one. No, there's no farm anymore. But here is a farm, right? There's no farm anymore. All these people shut down because of the government policies? Yeah. The government wants to control the food, so we don't eat meat, we eat insects. As the price of staples goes through the roof, people will say, I can't afford a steak anymore. So all right, I'll eat your stupid cricket. Hi, I'm Caleb, and this is my story. I was born with osteogenesis imperfecta or renal bone disease. I have broken my bones almost 200 times, and I have had 11 surgeries. But I do let that stop me. I love to bike ride, climb, race, and I'm learning how to stand and walk. But I can only do all of this because of generous people like you and Shriners Hospitals for Children. Because of people like you, Shriners Hospitals for Children has helped more than 1.3 million kids just like me, regardless of their family's ability to pay. Shriners Hospitals for Children is only able to provide this world-class, life-changing medical care because of the generous gifts of people just like you. Because of you, I can ride my bike. I can play basketball. Because of people like you, I can run. I can smile. Will you send your love to the rescue today? When you go to loveshriners.org right now and give just 63 cents a day, you're helping kids just like me. Like me. Like me. When you give today, we'll send you this adorable love to the rescue blanket as a thank you and a reminder of the love you gave to a kid just like me. Your gift, no matter how small, can help a child today. This is your moment to make a difference. When you pick up your phone, I know you have it right there, and call to give. You're helping kids like me. Thank you. Thank you. Gracias. Thank you. Please call or go online now. If operators are busy, please call again or give right away at loveshriners.org. Your gift makes a difference. Thank you for giving. I'm Jason Blair in San Francisco, California, and we are NTD News. Welcome back. If you're just joining us now, here are some today's top headlines. One person has died and at least 71 others were injured when a Singapore Airlines flight experienced severe turbulence midair. The Boeing plane was flying from London to Singapore and had to make an emergency landing in Bangkok, Thailand. Israeli officials announced they will return a camera and broadcasting equipment they seized from the Associated Press. Israel is accusing the news organization of violating a new law by providing images to Al Jazeera. This came as the UN halts all food delivery to RAFA. The House Rules Committee held a hearing on a bill that would prohibit non-citizens from voting in local elections in Washington, D.C. House Republicans are trying to repeal a law in 2022 that gave non-citizens in D.C. the right to vote. Currently, at least 16 jurisdictions in the country allow non-citizens to vote in Former President Trump's defense team rested its case in the so-called hush money trial without calling more witnesses. The judge ordered the jury to return next Tuesday for summations and lawyers debated over jury instructions. The judge says he is going to make every effort to get the jury instructions to the two legal teams by the end of Thursday. They can then have four days to prepare their closing arguments for May 28th. Joining me now to discuss Trump's trial is David Katz, former assistant U.S. attorney and former federal prosecutor. David, thank you so much for joining us. Great to have you here. Now, to begin, Trump's defense team has now rested their case. The defense, of course, does not need to prove anything, but that lies with the prosecution. Trump said this morning that they have no case and that there is no crime. What is your read on the case so far? How did the prosecution do? Well, I think the prosecution presented a pretty compelling case. I think that they were well prepared. I think they did a lot better than some skeptics thought at the beginning when the, you know, the U.S. attorney's office did not go on this case, you know, even under the Biden administration. And so they thought, well, if the feds shied away from it, the state was going to have a lot of trouble. But I thought that they presented a compelling case with, you know, with starting with the National Enquirer editor and then all the way through Stormy Daniels. That was controversial. And Michael Cohen, I thought, presented himself pretty well. Now, the jury has been sent home for a week with closing arguments expected next Tuesday. In an unprecedented case like this, how important are jury instructions? How will that impact the jury's decision? The jury instructions are critical. And one of the reasons was that if this case stays a misdemeanor, the statute of limitations has run. If all that Trump did was falsify records knowingly, he will be convicted of a misdemeanor and then the case will be thrown out because it's no longer good under the statute of limitations. Tiffany, it has to be bumped up to a felony. And so the whole argument is, is it shouldn't be just some unlawful conduct that's so vague, bumps it up to a felony. The three unlawful conducts are potentially that Trump intentionally violated state campaign finance laws. Or number two, he knowingly intentionally violated federal campaign finance laws. Or number three, he violated federal and state tax laws. They've never had to pin the tail on the donkey in this case. And the prosecution hasn't. And so what they've argued in jury instructions is make the jury decide unanimously which of the three, all of the three. If the judge had gone that way, I think they would have had a lot of trouble unanimously agreeing. And if they do unanimously agree on this vague, unlawful conduct, that will be Trump's argument on appeal that there should have been more specificity and less vagueness. But the judge has decided to go with the vaguer and less specific approach and accept unanimity if on merely unlawful conduct. It'll be an interesting appellate issue if he's found guilty. Expanding on that, in your opinion, what should the jury instructions include then? Well, I think that somehow an appellate court should have ruled on this ahead of time, but that's not really how our system works. First, you have the trial. Then you have the finding of guilty or not. Then you have the sentencing to whatever it is. And then you have the appeal. But obviously, if there should have been unanimity on the specific three, one of the three, all of the three, the court of appeal will send the case back for a retrial sometime after the November election. And David, do you think a week is too long to wait before the jury hears closing arguments? Is this kind of a gap unusual? It's totally unusual. And one of the things is that you have a jury that's not sequestered. You have a jury that we worried a lot about. The gag order was that Trump not make statements about some of the witnesses, but especially about the jurors. And the idea was that they're not sequestered. And so if that's so, that you're worried about they're not sequestered and they're going to be out there, why leave them out there another week? So I think that the judge got a bit faked out on that one. But it may also be that he needs more time because it is really a momentous decision what the jury instructions are going to be. It's so important that they be clear and correct under New York law. David, there were some tense moments in the courtroom today between Judge Huamer Sean and Robert Costello, the final witness for the defense. Do you think Costello's testimony hurt the defense? Well, you know, the Southern District of New York is one of the great offices in the country. And I was with the L.A. office, which we consider ourselves a rival of the New York office out there in Los Angeles. But, you know, there are two famous people from the U.S. Attorney's Office. One is Rudy Giuliani and the other one is Robert Costello. And they both, in my opinion, made a disgrace of being from that office. I mean, Costello acted in a way that I thought was totally unprofessional. And apparently the judge thought it was unprofessional. You know, people who aren't lawyers know not to do what he did in court. And I have to believe, because he's an intelligent person, totally in the Trump camp, in my view, that he was hoping to provoke the judge into an error. He was hoping and the Trump team was hoping that he would have an outburst. The judge would have an outburst in front of the jury. And then they would argue, oh, the jury was tainted. You see this. The judge got furious. The judge was smart enough before he told Costello to knock it off and to not act so unprofessionally as a witness on the stand. He had the jury removed. And so the jury was not prejudiced. The jury was not tainted. But it was really remarkable. And of course, that was the star witness for the defense. So to get off on such a wrong foot on their only key witness, I thought was just a little bit of an unforced error and that they had so much on Costello. I mean, they wanted Costello to say, I represented Michael Cohn for a while. I talked to Michael Cohn and Michael Cohn told me I have nothing on Trump as much as I would like to have an escape route for this case. I got nothing on him. But when you look at the circumstances that were sure to emerge, Tiffany, on cross-examination, he was really on Trump's side all along. He seemed to never have been on Michael Cohn's side. He seemed to be just trying to find out what he could from Michael Cohn and use it in just the way that he did. So I don't think it's going to really work very well for Trump. Now, speaking of Trump, Trump had said initially that he would testify in his own defense, but didn't end up doing so. Now, he cited the gag order as the reason for the judge. Former Sean actually said the gag order doesn't stop Trump from testifying. Was this the right decision in your view of Trump not testifying? Trump's bravado is he's always the tough guy who wants to testify. He wanted to testify and tell his story to Mueller. Remember that? But he never did. And he wanted to tell his story to the jury, and he never did. I thought they did a good job. Trump's lawyers did too. But I thought it would have been malpractice if they had put Trump on the stand. There were so many things that could go wrong. There were so many things that he would be cross-examined about. But his argument on appeal, besides the other one that I mentioned, if he does get found guilty, by the way, I don't think he'll be sentenced to any jail time, even if he is found guilty. But he'll argue on appeal. I think also on this very issue, I think that he'll argue that the gag order was wrong and that he was told that he would be cross-examined on certain things. That was one of the Harvey Weinstein issues that led to his trial being thrown out and being sent back for a new trial, that he would have been cross-examined on too many things. The judge was going to include too many things that he could have been cross-examined about. When he realized that the judge was doing that, he shied away from testifying. And that was the reason, the overbroad cross-examination that would have been allowed of him had he taken the stand, I don't think he's going to get anywhere on that issue. The first one, I think, is the big one, whether the judge was too vague in the unlawful aims. I think he should have been more specific. I think that that might have led to a hung jury. But I think that that would have been the wiser legal ruling for the long term. But I think with the ruling that he made, it's much more likely that Trump will be found guilty of a felony than had he made the other ruling. Wow, quite fascinating. David Katz, former assistant U.S. attorney and former federal prosecutor, thank you so much for your time. Great to be with you, Tiffany. Have Americans in Oregon had enough of relaxed crime policies? We could find out in just a few hours as voters cast their ballots in today's primary races. Progressive and mainstream Democrats are battling it out. NTD's Melinda Weisskopf has more on the key races. Portland, Oregon is one of the nation's most liberal cities. But aren't citizens happy with far-left policies that have been enacted over recent years? Tonight's key Democratic primaries may shed some light on this. Portland's District Attorney Mike Schmidt is facing a primary challenge from his own employee, Nathan Vasquez. Vasquez has criticized his boss's soft on crime policies, and he's running his own campaign on returning accountability to a city that's grappling with rising homelessness, crime, and drug abuse. Schmidt, elected in 2020 during the rise of Black Lives Matter protests, decriminalized a number of felonies and misdemeanors. In addition, the District Attorney threw his support behind a policy change to legalize hard drugs. And a surge in opioid overdoses followed last year, 628 in just six months, compared to 280 in all of 2019. After this failure, the state then voted to recriminalize hard drugs. One of the state lawmakers who voted for this is now running for a seat in the U.S. Congress, Democrat Maxine Dexter. Dexter is facing off with a progressive Democrat, Sashila Jayapal, to fill the seat of retiring Congressman Earl Blumenauer. In addition, Dexter is seen as the pro-Israel recruit, as opposed to Jayapal, who, like her sister, who's serving as the chairwoman of the progressive caucus in Congress, has refused to denounce the terrorist attacks. Several Democrat groups have rallied behind with support for Dexter, which could hint that Democrats are leaning more towards supporting moderate candidates versus progressive ones. Oregon's primary races tonight are among several others. And after tonight, there will be only eight presidential nomination contests left. Reporting from Washington, D.C., Melina Weiskup, NTD News. Energy demand is expected to skyrocket as technology use spreads. Energy leaders say massive changes are needed just to keep the lights on. NTD's Virginia Gibson has more. We cannot be open for business if we cannot keep the lights on. Energy demand is projected to grow drastically. At a Senate hearing on Tuesday, lawmakers said this may be one of America's greatest challenges. Just a few years ago, a large-scale industrial manufacturing facility might require 100 megawatts or about enough to power 100,000 homes. A facility that size would typically be one of a kind in a region, would be a major source of economic activity for that area. Now it is common for a single data center to require three, up to 15 times this amount of power. American Electric Power Company President Benjamin Folk said customers are requesting amounts of energy that are double that of current peak demand. He said America needs massive change to reliably serve a fraction of future needs. ChatGPT requires 2.9 watt hours for a request, and that's nearly 10 times more power than a typical Google search. He said artificial intelligence, cloud computing, and bitcoin mining are largely driving the energy demand, a demand that involves reliability. If you take power away for milliseconds, you cause astonishing economic destruction. You don't get to ask them, would you please turn it off right now, the wind isn't blowing, and our batteries have run out. Energy expert Mark Mills said America should have diverse sources of energy. Throwing out fossil fuels and replacing them with renewables may not work. One reason, batteries aren't reliable. They're extraordinarily expensive ways to store energy. On an engineering physics basis, roughly 100 times more expensive than the traditional ways to store energy, tanks, caverns, piles of coal. Mills said tens of trillions of dollars worth of batteries would be needed for a full-scale renewable energy America, an amount the world isn't capable of producing. We encourage investigation in all sources of new generation like new hydro, new nuclear, small modular reactors, geothermal, battery technology for wind and solar to make them more reliable. Tech executive Scott Gatzmeyer encouraged developing all sources of energy and requiring sufficient new generation before retiring existing generation. Virginia Gibson in TD News. Coming up in sports memorabilia, why a game-worn Babe Ruth jersey from the 1932 World Series could fetch tens of millions of dollars. Dave Martin joins us to explain its value. And auto theft is on the rise in the U.S. Find out what models car thieves are stealing and what they're using the vehicles for. That and more after the break. Is deep-sea fish oil really healthy? Due to pollution in the oceans, most fish contain heavy metal elements and radioactive substances. That's why it's so important to choose a pure source of omega-3. Puritan green vegetable omega-3 is made from porcelain and perilla seeds, which are rich in nutrients and minerals, especially vitamins A, D, E, calcium and iron. With natural processing and no harmful chemical additives, it has more than 90 percent concentration of omegas 3, 6, 7 and 9. It effectively improves brain power and is beneficial to the heart's health. Puritan omega-3 does not smell of fish and contains no pollutants, so both adults and children can safely and easily consume it over a long period of time. Puritan green vegetable omega-3. Greener, healthier and more effective. Visit puritan.com to learn more. Do you know that Cars for Compassion is the best way to donate your car? Through this non-profit program, you can not only help us keep bringing the world independent and daringly truthful journalism, but also significantly impact the life of somebody who needs a vehicle. The Epoch Times fights misinformation and big tech censorship by being independent and unbound to advertisers. Every single contribution to Cars for Compassion is a powerful endorsement of our unwavering mission. All you have to do is go to carsforcompassion.org and let us know about your car and we'll schedule a pickup time and email you a tax deductible receipt. To do this, just click the link below. Support truth, compassion and hope. Donate your car right now at www.carsforcompassion.org. A painting that has true beauty. I imagine it's like a door. The artist holds the key to open the door and bring people to a pure world where people are more compassionate. Oh, thank you so much. Fostering a pet for a friend or neighbor can keep families together. Learn more at petsandpeopletogether.org. Welcome back. I'm Tiffany Meyer. Now for your sports news, we're joined by NTD's Dave Martin over at the Sports Hub. Dave, a lot going on today, but let's start in the WNBA where Kaitlin Clark has just signed a new endorsement deal with Wilson, which produces the basketballs for the league. Is there anything about this deal that's unique? Yeah, it's reportedly going to include a signature basketball collection. Now that's important because really the only other person they've ever done that for is the great Michael Jordan. Now, unfortunately for Kaitlin Clark, her Indiana Fever are not having a great season. They lost last night to fall to 0-1-4, but individually she's now 17th in the league in scoring, 11th in assists, and first in three pointers made. But still, the crowds are still following her, which is why she's going to add to her hall of endorsements already. I mean, she already has Nike, Gatorade, and State Farm. As we've already said, she comes to sold-out arenas almost every night, so she has already been quite the draw for the WNBA this season. Looking at sports memorabilia news, a Babe Ruth jersey from the 1932 World Series is heading to auction this August. Now, Heritage Auctions, which will be holding the auction, says it could go for as much as $30 million. What makes this particular jersey so valuable? I mean, not only is it almost 100 years old, it was worn by still the most famous baseball player of all time, Babe Ruth, and this was when he had his most famous home run. This is And by called shot, I mean he pointed to the outfield and hit a long home run there, reportedly 440 feet, to put the Yankees ahead. They ended up sweeping the Cubs in the World Series. Now, what makes it a little bit more intriguing is there's actually some dispute over where or who he was actually pointing to. Now, the bidding on this Babe Ruth jersey is at $7.5 million, and this will be starting in August. Shifting gears to baseball, the Dodgers two-way star Shohei Ohtani made waves in the offseason when he signed a $700 million contract. Now, because of an arm injury, he's not pitching this season, but clearly it hasn't affected his hitting. Does he have a chance to win another MVP this year? You know, I'd say yes, but keep in mind no players ever won an MVP award in a season in which they were the team's primary designated hitter, like Ohtani is for this year's Dodgers. Now, that said, Ohtani is having quite a start to the season. Let's actually take a look here. Shohei Ohtani, this is six major offensive categories. Batting average, he's first in the majors, as well as slugging percentage, and his 67 hits, those are all first. 13 home runs, that's fourth, as well as those 424 slugging percentage. He's got 33 RBIs, that is good for 11th in the league. Now, one relatively new metric that is used to measure a player's worth, it's actually called wins above replacement. Now, quite simply, wins above replacement measures how many wins a player adds to his team over a replacement level player over the entire course of a season. Now, we're going to be using baseball reference.com metrics. Here's how it measures out. Now, the higher the number, the better the player, of course. A replacement player is at zero. A reserve level player would be like zero to two. A starter would be like two and above. Generally, an all-star player would be in this level of five, and to be an MVP, you've got to be somewhere in this eight category. Now, these are the five best seasons ever by a designator hitter using the wins above replacement measuring. Edgar Martinez, number one, his 1995 season. Now, Shohei Ohtani, this is him last year when he was worth six. Just as a hitter, of course, he was also worth a lot as a pitcher. That's how he won their MVP award. Now, this is where Ohtani is right now, currently. That's 3.1 wins above replacement through 48 games. That projects out to 10.5, which would be way easily the best for the DH ever, and definitely puts him in the conversation, at least, for MVP, if not the driver seat. So, the Dodgers, I mean, it looks like they're actually getting their money's worth for their $700 million man this season, anyway. Now, in NBA news, the playoffs resumed tonight with Boston hosting Indiana in game one of the conference finals. What is the playing status of Boston's Christoph Porzingis? Yeah, Porzingis is still listed as out for tonight. He's still out with that calf injury. So, the Celtics are going to turn to 37-year-old Al Horford. Now, it's not necessarily a bad thing. Horford, in game five against Cleveland, 22 points, 15 rebounds, and hit six three-pointers. So, he had quite a game there. He's been a good player for a long time. Now, let's actually look at the playoff bracket here in the East. Game one tonight, as you said, between the Celtics and Pacers. This is going to be in Boston. And then, tomorrow night, we've got the Western Conference finals starting. Dallas will be at Minnesota there. That will be on Wednesday night. So, more NBA action starts right tonight. Well, David Saez, thanks for joining us. Thank you, Tiff. 2023 marked another year for a record number of stolen vehicles, according to the National Insurance Crime Bureau. NTD's Andrew Thomas speaks with a law enforcement expert to discuss the surge in car thefts across the country and the models thieves target most. The National Insurance Crime Bureau found that more than a million vehicles were reported stolen last year. According to the non-profit, the Hyundai Elantra, Hyundai Sonata, and Kia Optima were the most popular among car thieves. We have what we're calling monikering the Kia kids. And these are kids as young as 12 to 18, 19 years old. And there's a glitch in the system with Kias that they're stealing those and then committing other kinds of crimes with them. FUTA has more than 30 years of law enforcement experience. He says thieves often use stolen cars as battering rams. We've had a lot of pot shop smash and grab burglaries where they'll steal two cars, smash the building with one, and then take whatever product they're doing and run in the other. And then the same thing with the shock and awe armed robberies into convenience stores. FUTA argues that when there's no deterrence or consequences for crime in general, thieves can graduate to robbery and even murder. He cites a tragic instance from March 2022. Two kids had done a shock and awe robbery of a pot shop. They were given ankle monitors, sent home. Three days later, they cut those ankle monitors off, went to a pot shop in Tacoma, and ended up shooting and killing a pot shop employee. So they escalate, and the accountability part is not there. According to the NICB, Washington, D.C., Maryland, and Connecticut saw the largest percentage increases in stolen vehicles for 2023. By number of cars stolen, California, Texas, and Florida took the top three spots. But FUTA says there are several ways for drivers to protect their vehicles. There are services out there. There's the OnStar that will track your car. There are kits that have automatic shutoffs for your car if you drive away. It's the common things. Make sure your car is locked. Leave nothing exposed or valuable in your vehicle. Make sure your keys are with you. Those kinds of things. If those measures fail, it's important to call the police as soon as possible to increase the chances of recovering your vehicle. Andrew Thomas, NTT News. And that's all for today's news. For around the clock coverage, visit us at ntd.com or download our NTD app. Thanks for tuning in. I'm Tiffany Meyer. Good night.